Paris Saint Germain to sport new logo next season

French Ligue 1 club FC Paris Saint Germain will sport a new logo from the 2013/14 season ords as the club from Paris continues to strengthening its brand identity and further push to become a bigger player amongst Europe's football elite.

The club is a press release stated, "Paris Saint-Germain has chosen to capitalise on the strongest element of the brand, namely Paris itself.

The city of light, which is an undisputed icon throughout the world, represents unparalleled leverage to propel Paris Saint-Germain up among the greatest global sporting brands. The new logo thus has the name "Paris" clearly brought to the fore, with the Eiffel Tower at the heart of the logo. The base of the logo has the name "Saint Germain" which continues to be associated with the brand, along with the fleur de lys emblem.

The logo has a greater synthesis of ideas and a more immediate impact, and is now ideally placed to capture the imagination of football and sports fans around the world."

Here the old PSG logo

Following in the footsteps of international football's major clubs and under the impetus of its President Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Paris Saint-Germain has chosen to prioritise continuity for its new identity. The new concept brings the brand up to the level of the standards of excellence set by Paris itself, respecting its DNA and its history.

The font is inspired by Paris' major brands, the colors have been made more luminous and highlighted with a hint of gold, while the Eiffel Tower is the veritable heartbeat of the logo. The result is a timeless brand which is resolutely Parisian yet totally international.

"The evolution of the Paris Saint-Germain logo marks an important stage in the implementing of our ambition," said Nasser Al-Khelaifi, "namely making Paris Saint-Germain one of the world's greatest sporting brands."

Germany score impressive 2-1 away win against France

A depleted Germany, who were missing Schweinsteiger, Klose, Reus, Götze, Schmelzer and Babstuber; put-up a briliant display to beat France 2-1 in an international friendly at the Stade de France in Paris.

France had take a late first half lead of a rare Valbuena header before Germany came back in the second session to turn things around with goals from Thomas Müller and Sami Khedira.

A lot was expected from this match and it was a cracker of a game. Both teams from the start played an attacking game infront of a sellout crowd with Germany having the better chances through Khedira, Özil and Mertesacker.

Thereafter Karim Benzema threatened the Germany goal twice in short succession before a Benzema free-kick in the 44th minute hit the woodwork before Sissiko headed int forward for the 1.67m tall Valbuena to head in a surprise 1-0 half-time lead for the hosts.

Germany was not shocked by the France goal and equalised in the 51st minute when Gündogan intercepted a Capoue pass, squared it to Thomas Müller and he made no mistake to put the ball into the net past Hugo Lloris. Thereafter Germany's attacking intent was not as much visible with France having chances through Valbuena, Ribery and Benzama; but on all occasions Rene Adler was there to deny them.

And then came the winner for Germany, a co-production of Real Madrid team mates Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira as Özil played a blind pass for Khedira, who cooly slotted home. France did try to get the equaliser, but it ended 2-1 for Germany, a historic win then it was their first against the Equipe Tricolore since 1987 and the first in France since 1935.

"We were very good going forward, we often found space and their goalkeeper made several good saves," France coach Didier Deschamps said. "We need to be more efficient in attack. At the highest level you need to cut out some of the mistakes we made. We were punished for some of our mistakes tonight."

Meanwhile Germany coach Joachim Löw said, "It was our first big test of 2013, we played with a lot of rhythm and showed some of the good things that were missing last year."

Joachim Löw names Germany squad for France friendly

Germany coach Joachim Löw has named his 23 players squad for the next Wednesday, February 6 international friendly against France at the Stade de France, Paris.

An inform René Adler will get his chance to show himself in the friendly, while Sami Khedira and Mario Gomez make a return to the squad.

Due to injury Holger Badstuber will continue to miss the match, while inform striker Stefan Kiessling was not called-up as some expected.


GERMANY

Goalkeepers
René Adler (Hamburger SV), Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern München)

Defenders
Jérôme Boateng (FC Bayern München), Benedikt Höwedes (FC Schalke 04), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Philip Lahm (FC Bayern München), Per Mertesacker (FC Arsenal), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund), Heiko Westermann (Hamburger SV)

Midfielders
Lars Bender (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (FC Schalke 04), Mario Götze (Borussia Dortmund), Ilkay Gündogan (Borussia Dortmund), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (FC Bayern München), Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München), Mesut Özil (Real Madrid), Lukas Podolski (FC Arsenal), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), André Schürrle (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (FC Bayern München)

Forwards
Mario Gomez (FC Bayern München), Miroslav Klose (SS Lazio Roma)

Sky is the limit for the Women's Homeless World Cup

With interest and participation at an all time high, the Paris 2011 Women's Homeless World Cup will expand to accommodate sixteen teams this summer. The Women's tournament sparked incredible interest at last year’s Rio 2010 Homeless World Cup as the 12 participating teams plundered no fewer than 520 goals in just 54 games as host nation Brazil were crowned champions.

As a result, the Homeless World Cup received an unprecedented number of applications from partner organisations wishing to field an all-female team at the Paris 2011 event, the vast majority incorporating women's football into their national projects for the first time.

Now the women's tournament has been expanded to accommodate 16 teams for the Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup, allowing for a further four teams to compete. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, India, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay and Uganda will be joined by debutants Canada, hosts France, Malawi and Scotland.

Roberta Silva represented champions Brazil in Rio, she said, "To play at the Homeless World Cup is a great opportunity for people who are in need and a fantastic way for women to show their football skills."

Gerthrude Saint-Jacques, who played for Haiti, said, "I'm overjoyed to have played at the Homeless World Cup, meeting people from across the world and playing football. It is more than a dream to represent your country at the Homeless World Cup – it is a miracle."

Mel Young, President and co-Founder of the Homeless World Cup, said, "Homelessness is an issue that affects men and women in equal measure. This is why it is so important that we build on the success of the women's tournament in Rio and this is something that I am excited to see realised in Paris."

The Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup takes place at the Champs de Mars, Paris, France from August 21-28, 2011.

VIDEO: Eric Cantona lends his voice to the 2011 Homeless World Cup

Manchester United legend Eric Cantona is a Homeless World Cup Ambassador and his renowned vocals feature in the video to promote the annual football tournament happening in Paris next August.

Using animation and street art, the Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup promo "Homeless to hero" highlights the power of football to transform lives and features four ex-Homeless World Cup players leading extraordinary lives.

Patrick Mbeu, formerly of Team France is now coaching with Paris St Germain FC; Michele da Silva, Team Brazil became a member of Brazil's U20's national women's squad; David Duke, Team Scotland is the founder of Street Soccer Scotland using football with over 500 homeless people; and Nathan Bowen, Team England is a Health Coach Coordinator a Brighton and Hove Albion FC.

Created in collaboration with Promax UK, Beautiful TV and Nike the promo features music from the Mercury Music Prize Nominated Brighton based sextet 'The Go! Team' with a superb track called 'The Running Range' from their new album 'Rolling Blackouts'.

The Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup will take place at the Champs de Mars, Paris, France from 21-28 August 2011.


Here the promo video with Eric Cantona

Donate at Ulule.com, help homeless players live a dream

The Homeless World Cup and Ulule.com have joined forces to help five teams reach the Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup, giving the opportunity to support the players and receive exclusive rewards.

Founded in 2003, the Homeless World Cup is a unique, pioneering social enterprise using football to energise homeless people to change their own lives for the better. An annual first class international football tournament is staged as a celebration of the yearly achievements of the Homeless World Cup and a network of more than 70 national partners.

Ulule is supporting the Homeless World Cup by collecting funds to enable players from five economically poorer nations to reach this year's tournament held at Champs de Mars in Paris, France from August 21-28, 2011. For the players this represents an unlikely opportunity to realise a dream shared by millions: to wear their national colours with pride, enjoy the adulation of the crowd and represent their country.

The five teams supported by fundraising on Ulule are:

Cambodia, Kenya, Malawi, Palestine, Paraguay.


They aim to raise €2,500 for each of these teams in order to finance the documentation, travel and accommodation costs required to compete at this life changing tournament.

Supporters are offered signed photos and videos of the teams, as well as event T-shirts. Anyone can help. All the projects can be found and supported at this address: http://fr.ulule.com/homeless-world-cup .

Mel Young, President and co-Founder of the Homeless World Cup, is confident of the profound impact this tournament will have on the lives of homeless people worldwide, "The Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup is an opportunity for homeless people to move from being invisible to stand proud on a global stage, and be the true ambassadors for their country that they are."

The Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup supporters include UEFA, Fundacion Telmex, United Nations, Nike; Global Ambassador Eric Cantona; international footballers as Didier Drogba, Rio Ferdinand; and Arsène Wenger, this year's President of the Local Organising Committee, with Emmanuel Petit and Liliam Thuram as the Paris tournament Ambassadors.

Homeless World Cup - 100 days to Paris

The start of the Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup is drawing near with 100 Days To Kick Off!

The 9th edition of the Homeless World Cup will see 64 nations from across the globe participate in the annual football tournament, featuring host nation France, reigning champions Brazil and debutants Indonesia. 16 of these teams will be participating in the Women's Homeless World Cup, the biggest yet including Canada, France, Kenya and Scotland, all represented by a female team for the first time.

Like in the last few years India will be one of the countries taking part in the tournament.

Mel Young, President and co-Founder of the Homeless World Cup said: "The Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup will be once again a great opportunity for homeless people to participate on a global football event, stand proud and become true ambassadors for their country."

The Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup will take place at the Champs de Mars in Paris, France from August 21 to 28, 2011.

Keep up to date with the build-up to the Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup visiting our website www.homelessworldcup.org and by joining us on Facebook and Twitter .

FIFA Ballon d'Or: A Barca Affair

The first-ever FIFA Ballon d'Or awards will be an all FC Barcelona affair with Argentine Lionel Messi facing Spanish club mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez. These three players were the top three pick from the original list of 23 players. Meanwhile Fatmire Bajramaj (Germany), Marta (Brazil) and Birgit Prinz (Germany) will contest the women’s award.

This was announced today at a press conference held at the headquarters of the sports daily L'Equipe in Paris. And it was attended by FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke, France Football CEO François Morinière plus former French internationals Jean-Pierre Papin and Christian Karembeu.

The Ballon d'Or award was earlier on handed our by the French magazine, while FIFA had their own World Player of the Year award. Now these two have been merged into one and the first-ever FIFA Ballon d'Or awards will be handed out on January 10, 2011 at the Kongresshaus in Zurich.

The candidates for the newly created FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men's Football award and the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women's Football award were also announced. The contenders are the following: Vicente del Bosque (Spain/Spanish national team), Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Barcelona) and José Mourinho (Portugal/FC Internazionale & Real Madrid CF) in the men's category, while Maren Meinert (Germany/German U-20 national team) Silvia Neid (Germany/German national team) and Pia Sundhage (Sweden/USA national team) have been named in the women's category.

All of these nominees were confirmed after a poll in which the captains and head coaches of the men's and women's national teams as well as international media representatives selected by magazine France Football voted for candidates. The votes from each of the three groups counted for one-third to obtain the final result.

Also the FIFA FIFPro World XI and the FIFA Puskás Award for the most beautiful goal of the year will also be announced for the second year running. The online vote for fans on FIFA.com for the FIFA Puskás Award has now reached the 1 million vote landmark, with one week to go until the poll closes at noon CET on 13 December. The FIFA Presidential Award and the FIFA Fair Play Award will also be presented during the gala.

FIFA Ballon d'Or awards candidates

The the list of candidates of the first-ever FIFA Ballon d'Or awards were released earlier today. For the new award FIFA have joined hands with France Football. The Ballon d'Or award was earlier on handed our by the French magazine, while FIFA had their own World Player of the Year award. Now these two have been merged into one and the first-ever FIFA Ballon d'Or awards will be handed out on January 10, 2011 in Zurich.

Last year Argentinian Lionel Messi had won the title, but it highly unlikely he will be able to defend it though it could go to one of his FC Barcelona team mates. In total seven Spanish World Cup winners are amongst the candidates, even five players from Germany made it. If you look club wise then FC Barcalona has the highest number of nominees with six followed by UEFA Champions League finalists International Milan and FC Bayern Munich with five.

Now national coaches and captains from around the world plus selected journalists can vote for their top candidates. The top three in each category would be announced at a press conference in Paris on December 6 ahead of the awards a month later.


The following 23 men (in alphabetical order) are in contention for the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2010

Xabi Alonso (Spain/Real Madrid), Daniel Alves (Brazil/FC Barcelona), Iker Casillas (Spain/Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast/FC Chelsea), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon/Internationale Milan), Cesc Fabregas (Spain/FC Arsenal), Diego Forlan (Uruguay/Atletico Madrid), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana/FC Stade Rennes-AFC Sunderland), Andres Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona), Julio Cesar (Brazil/Internationale Milan), Miroslav Klose (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Philipp Lahm (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Maicon (Brazil/Internationale Milan), Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Thomas Muller (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Germany/SV Werder Bremen-Real Madrid), Carlos Puyol (Spain/FC Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Netherlands/FC Bayern Munich), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Wesley Sneijder (Holland/Internationale Milan), David Villa (Spain/FC Valencia-FC Barcelona), Xavi Hernandez (Spain/FC Barcelona).


The following ten coaches (in alphabetical order) are in contention for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men's Football 2010

Carlo Ancelotti (Italy/FC Chelsea), Vicente del Bosque (Spain), Sir Alex Ferguson (Scotland/Manchester United), Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Barcelona), Joachim Loew (Germany), Jose Mourinho (Portugal/Internationale Milan-Real Madrid), Oscar Tabarez (Uruguay), Louis Van Gaal (Netherlands/Bayern Munich), Bert van Marwijk (Netherlands), Arsene Wenger (France/FC Arsenal)


The following ten women (in alphabetical order) are in contention for the title of FIFA Women's World Player 2010

Camille Abily (France), Fatmire Bajramaj (Germany), So Yun Ji (Korea Republic), Marta (Brazil), Birgit Prinz (Germany), Caroline Seger (Sweden), Christine Sinclair (Canada), Kelly Smith (England), Hope Solo (USA) and Abby Wambach (USA).


The following ten coaches (in alphabetical order) are in contention for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women's Football 2010

Bruno Bini (France), In Cheul Choi (South Korea, South Korea Under-20), Maren Meinert (Germany Under-20), Albertin Montoya (USA/ FC Gold Pride), Silvia Neid (Germany), Hope Powell (England), Norio Sasaki (Japan), Bernd Schröder (Germany/FFC Turbine Potsdam), Pia Sundhage (Sweden/Team USA), Béatrice von Siebenthal (Switzerland)